Ketchikan Off-Roading

Ketchikan is such a cute little town. It was fun to see Creek Street even though we only had about 30 minutes to look around. Luckily we came across some seals (or are they sea lions???) that were having some fun. One was mercilessly chasing around a fish, catching it and letting it go. I thought humans were the only ones that play with their food. And another one was basking in the warm sun. So cute! In the background you can Dolly's house. Back in the older days, Dolly and her gals were there to meet the needs of all those hard workin' men, if you get my drift. I wish we'd had more time to stroll around. We were so thankful for the 65 degree weather! Even though I was feeling bad that I bought rain jackets for the trip. We didn't use them once!

 

Then we were off to do some off-roading in the wilderness. This shore excursion was a splurge, we'll admit. But there's something about driving fast through potholes and rocky terrain that Justin can't resist. And I actually did some driving and it really was fun! We took a 30 minute bus ride to a more remote area of the island and got all buckled into these Tomcars. We would ride caravan style, following a guide and being brought up in the rear by another guide. Well, they gave a brief little lesson about how to start and then we'd be off. As I looked to my side, I realized that an older man (maybe 60) was having trouble listening to the directions, "Put your left foot on the brake." I realize that most people don't drive with the left foot on the brake, but he just wasn't getting it even after repeated directions. I knew this might be a problem. But we got started and were having a great time! Here we are:

After about 10 minutes, we pulled up to our guide and waited for everyone to catch up. It turned into a long wait. Sure enough, that couple from Hong Kong were THE SLOW CAR! We ended up spending a significant time waiting for them. Our guide told us not to slow down for bumps and potholes but this didn't sink in with them. We were disappointed that we had to spend so much time waiting for them to catch up. While we were actually driving, we did have a great time. We stopped at some gorgeous view areas, one atop a hill and the other down near a lovely waterfall. Unfortunately, it was time to head back all too soon. One of the guides confessed that they usually take two other side roads and do a brief obstacle course at the end, which we didn't have time for. It's painful to pay a lot for this kind of thing and then realize you didn't get  to do everything. On top of that, we ended up getting back and waiting 20 minutes for the bus to take us to the ship. Grrrr! We had to keep reminding ourselves that what we did really was fun, and that we shouldn't focus on what we didn't get to do. While waiting, I did get to pet this cute dog, Shadow. I knew the boys would have loved this friendly pup. We made it back to the cruise ship with no time to spare. In fact, on the bus ride back our driver was radioed and asked when we'd arrive. We walked on the ship and 5 minutes later they pulled up the gangway. We were off to Victoria, B.C. where we actually didn't get off the ship at all. It was 8 p.m. and dark when we arrived so it didn't seem that appealing to wander around a dark town. The next morning we enjoyed our last breakfast in the dining room and it was home to our sweet boys!